TSR Collaboration
Feb 25, 20218 min
The Stride Report is aware that the D3 indoor national meet is cancelled for the 2021 season. With many D3 schools opting to not compete this winter, TSR has decided to only rank athletes who are racing / have raced during the 2021 indoor track season. Some performances in these rankings may be converted.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.
Ethan Gregg burst onto the scene last week with a 14:37 (5k) performance, most of which was solo, at a dual meet with Wisconsin-River Falls. That result was enough to place him at NCAa #3 in the overall D3 leaderboard in the event so far this season.
Gregg has yet to duplicate that kind of performance, but if he’s able to run like that once, there’s no reason why he can’t do it again, especially if the fields begin to get more competitive.
There are only a few collegiate results associated with Gregg, one of which is a 4:20 mile from earlier this month. That's a solid mark, but it doesn’t necessarily stand out. It will be interesting to see how he fares for the rest of the season and how high his ceiling is.
For now, TSR #15 is a good spot for him, but he’s certainly a guy to continue to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Heys has raced a lot this winter, having competed in five meets so far and tripling on more than one occasion. He has fared better in the longer events, ranking at NCAA #5 on the national leaderboard thus far in both the 3k (8:26) and 5k (14:48).
Both of those times are career bests, suggesting that the sophomore is only getting better. He was solid last year, but is now beginning to establish himself at the forefront of the D3 distance scene, and can give almost anyone a run for their money.
Since the fall, Wartburg has been the premier distance program in the country -- granted, many of the typical blue bloods have simply not competed, but what the Knights are doing is highly impressive. They have some individual stars and Wyatt Schmidt is one of them.
Last year, Schmidt ended the year tied at NCAA #7 on the national leaderboard for the 800 and he has picked up right where he left off. As of now, only Mike Jasa has run a faster 800 than Schmidt after the flat-track conversion has been factored in.
We can assume that in two weeks time, they will face off again at the American Rivers Championship, and while Jasa will likely be the favorite, don’t be too surprised if Schmidt makes it difficult for the Loras runner.
Up until a month ago, Nicholas Hoffman was a good runner, but not in the conversation to be in the national conversation. Then, his 4:09 mile performance at the GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Open, a massive personal best, vaulted him into our TSR #11 spot in our first indoor track rankings update.
A few weeks later, he followed that up with an 8:26 (3k) on the same track, and finds himself ranked at NCAA #4 in the mile and NCAA #8 in the 3k so far. He drops one spot for this update because others have come along and put up big performances, but regardless of what he does in the coming weeks, Hoffman has clearly taken himself to another level compared to previous seasons.
In any normal year, we’d get to see who some of the top freshmen in D3 are during the cross country season. Coming into this abbreviated indoor season, without having that prior knowledge, freshmen practically come out of nowhere when they run fast.
That is exactly what happened with Christian Patzka last month as he burst onto the scene with a blazing 4:14 mile time, beating teammate David Fassbender in the process. His 8:26 (3k), finishing right behind Fassbender, ranks at NCAA #4 in D3 right now which is incredibly impressive for a freshman.
Patzka will certainly be one of the next young names to look out for over the next few years in D3 as his opening season has been a highly impressive one.
Martin has put together a solid year so far, right in the midst of the Wartburg dominance on the D3 level this indoor season. He started off the year with a nice personal best in the mile, running 4:17 in the process, while also running a mark of 1:53 for 800 meters a few weeks later, putting himself at NCAA #3 for the event.
The American Rivers Conference, which also includes Loras College, is thriving on a big level with mid-distance talent right now and Martin is one of their big names to watch out for over the half-mile distance this winter.
Making his first appearance in the rankings, Alderfer has proven himself to be an up-and-coming middle distance runner this season, ranking NCAA #8 in the 800, along with a staggering NCAA #2 ranking in the mile.
His new personal best of 1:54 is a respectable improvement over last year, but considering he didn’t break 4:25 last year...well, that makes his new, shiny personal best of 4:11 all the more impressive.
Alderfer has clearly shown that he can be a national contender in both the 800 and the mile this winter and that versatility between the two events is encouraging when it comes to how we viewed athletes in these rankings.
After his impressive 14:33 (5k) effort, Phillip jumps up a good handful of spots in our rankings, as that time sits currently at NCAA #2 in D3. He’s also contributed to a pretty fast DMR as well for John Carroll, along with setting a new PR in the mile (4:15).
He has yet to run a 3k this season, but will likely rip a good one if he does.
NOTE: Since the publication of this article, The Stride Report has also found that Alex Phillip ran 14:15 for 5000 meters unattached at the GVSU Big Meet. That mark likely would have boosted the John Carroll to a higher spot in our rankings.
Keeping true to his middle distance talents, Potter has put together some good races so far this season over the 800 meters and the mile. He hasn’t lost to anyone in the 800 yet and boasts a promising seasonal best of 1:53 in the event.
Last week, Potter narrowly finished behind David Fassbender in a fairly quick mile, running a very respectable time of 4:13. A few more weeks of competition should bode for some more nice performances from Potter. He may have dropped in our rankings, but that doesn't make him any less talented.
Collet jumps onto our rankings after a slew of impressive performances this winter, including marks of 8:27 (3k) and a 4:12 (mile), both of which rank in the top-six nationally in D3.
Part of his success can be attributed to teammate Joe Freiburger who pushed him to some great performances this year. After his impressive cross country season back in the fall, Collet has made the jump towards being one of D3’s elites and his upside is incredibly exciting if this is what he's accomplishing as only a rookie.
Not only that, but he’s also the brother of fellow Wartburg ace, Carina Collet. I guess you could say success on the track and grass "runs" in the family...
Fassbender has run some solid times so far this season, putting up times of 4:13 in the mile and 8:25 in the 3k, but hasn’t had a ton of competition yet.
The UW-Whitewater veteran has yet to run a 5k (his personal best is 14:26), but is expected to be running at the WIAC Elite 5k this week, which should feature most of the top-end names in the conference. Having fellow Warhawk Patzka to work with him should be a huge help for the Whitewater ace.
Overall, Fassbender is still a top talent who certainly needs to be considered amongst the D3 elites. His stock could absolutely still rise once he battles better competition.
Jumping onto the D3 scene in 2020 after transferring to Otterbein, Moore proved himself to be a solid performer, running 8:25 in the 3k and contributing to a speedy DMR team. However, 2021 has shown a new side of Moore who seems to be a different (and better) runner.
Moore has made quite the jump as of late, running an astounding 8:18 in the 3k and 14:38 in the 5k. He sits atop of the D3 national leaderboard in the 3000 meters and holds the NCAA #4 spot in the 5k. If we can see him battle against some of the guys on this list in a 3k, he could have the potential to win against anybody in D3.
Pommier has always been a really solid performer in the mile over his college career for the Cardinals, but his performance this past weekend brought him to a whole new level. Running completely solo, Pommier ran 4:09 in the mile on North Central’s 200 meter flat track, dropping nearly four seconds off of his previous personal best.
He’s the national leader in the mile by a hefty margin (thanks to the D3 conversion), yet it’s been his only race of the season. If that was essentially a winter rust-buster for him, then we're incredibly excited to see what he does next.
Mike Jasa is the best short-to-middle distance runner in the country right now, holding the top spot in both the 800 meters (with a converted 1:51) and the 400 meters, as well as anchoring Loras’s NCAA #1 4x400 relay. He has crazy foot speed, having recently run 48 high for the 400 meters on a flat 200 meter track.
Where Jasa is ranked should surprise nobody as he entered the season as the top returner in the 800 meter. There was discussion about moving him to our TSR #1 spot, but ultimately the 400 and 4x400 performances, while wildly impressive, do not hold as much weight, given that these rankings are for distance and middle distance runners.
Regardless, Mike Jasa is one of the biggest names in D3 track and field, and he’s still a junior. It will be exciting to see what he is capable of during the rest of his career.
As shown by the number of Knights on this list, Wartburg has clearly been on another level during these COVID times. Taking the current top spot in our rankings, Freiburger has proven himself to have some of the best range in all of D3. With seasonal bests of 4:12 (mile), 8:21 (3k) and 14:32 (5k), he’s put himself in the top-five in each event on the national leaderboard, holding the 5k national lead and the NCAA #2 spot in the 3k.
With fellow teammate Collet just ahead of him in their mile race last weekend, Freiburger has had some nice competition to push him to higher levels and destroy his collegiate best in the mile.
With Wartburg’s "DIII Elite Indoor Championships" right on the cusp, Freiburger should have a great opportunity to face some different, high-level competition in the near future.